Transferring Windows to ssd. Transferring the system to SSD

This is the transfer of all data from the old drive ("donor") to the new one ("recipient"). Everything is copied without exception: the operating system with drivers, installed programs, photos, music and so on. After cloning and replacing the disk, there is no need to remember passwords, all files will be in their usual places.

Why clone your hard drive?

This operation is carried out for the following purposes:

1. To use a new and faster drive. A typical case is replacing a slow HDD with a modern SSD. This will significantly speed up the responsiveness of Windows, and due to cloning, upgrading your computer will be as comfortable as possible for the user. All shortcuts and settings will remain unchanged, but the system will become faster.
2. To avoid reinstalling the operating system. For example, after buying a new computer, you want everything to be the same as on the old one and without reinstallations. This will happen when transferring information from the “donor” to the “recipient”, and the procedure itself will require relatively little action and attention on the part of the user.
3. To synchronize work different computers. Becoming increasingly common distant work. Cloning hard drive will allow us to develop a full workplace where it is convenient and there can be as many such places as you like.
4. To backup your data. You can lose information on a storage device at any time - nothing lasts forever. Thanks to cloning in a few clicks, you can be protected in case of force majeure and have a fully working “cast” of all data.

It is important that the “donor” is free of viruses - clone the drive only after a thorough scan for malware.

Utilities and programs for cloning

There are many cloning apps available. Some are specially designed to perform such an operation - suitable for inexperienced users who value the simplicity of the process. Other programs have broader functionality. In them, creating a disk clone is just one of many available options.

Before using any application, connect the new drive to your computer. For this it is convenient to use external pocket for hard drive

Renee Becca

A simple utility that everyone can understand. With its help, you can clone a storage medium in a few clicks. The algorithm of actions consists of the following steps:

• download, install and launch the application;
• select the item in the left panel "Clone". Using "Renee Becca" you can also clone only certain local disks or transfer only the operating system to a new drive. The corresponding items are located below in the initial window of the program;

• indicate “donor” and “recipient”. To get a full copy of the “donor”, ​​check the box “Make the target disk bootable...” at the bottom of the window. On the left, expand the “More” list and check the box next to “Clone all sectors...”. Then start the operation by clicking on “Clone”;

A functional program that costs a lot, but the demo version is also suitable for cloning. To download it, follow the link and enter your e-mail. After launching the application, do the following:

• select "donor". It is important to specify not just a local drive, but the entire drive. To do this, right-click on the line with this drive and click on “Clone basic disk”;

• indicate the "recipient". When choosing this disk, remember that the data on it will be overwritten, and its volume cannot be less than the size of the occupied information on the “donor”;

• so that the “recipient” is exactly the same as the “donor”, ​​check the box next to the “One to One” line in the next window;

• in Acronis Disc Director, any manipulations with drives must always be confirmed separately. To do this, at the top of the window, click on “Apply pending operations” - only after this will cloning begin;

If you do not use the program for commercial purposes, then you do not need to pay for it. You just need to go to the developer’s website, click on “Home Use”, specify your e-mail and confirm it - you will receive a corresponding letter. After downloading, installing and launching Macrium Reflect, follow these steps:

• on home screen click on “Clone this disk”;

• In the next window, check all local disks on the "donor";

• at the bottom, click on “Select a disk to clone …” - a selection window will appear where you specify “donor”;

• at the end of the operation, click on “Finish”;

Paragon Drive Backup Personal

A free utility with enough capabilities for cloning. It is available for download on this page, and after downloading, installing and launching, do the following:

• create your own account in the application. This is done in a few clicks - you only need to specify your e-mail and personal information. After that, on the left, click on “My new backup”. On the right, indicate the “donor” in the “Backup source” field and the “recipient” in the “Destination” field;

• start cloning by clicking on “Back up now”;

Simple and free application. To download, go to the developer’s website and select the version with Russian localization.

After installation and launch, follow these steps sequentially:

• indicate "donor". If you need to clone not the entire drive, but only one of the local drives, then check the “Show partitions” line and select the required local drives. Then click on “Next”;

• Specify the “recipient” and click “Next” again.

• The settings window will appear. You don’t have to change anything and click “Next”;

• A window for setting the sizes of the “donor” and “recipient” will appear. Just check the box “Resize partitions proportionally” and click on “Next”;

• in the last window, confirm the start of the operation by clicking on “Start copying”.

A good utility that has a demo version, the capabilities of which are enough for one-time disk cloning. After downloading, installing and launching the application, follow these steps:

• in the top panel, click on “Clone” - unfortunately, the program does not have a translation into Russian;

SSD drives are becoming more and more popular. This is due to an increase in their reliability, a decrease in cost and an improvement in the characteristics that they possess. Therefore, it is great for installing an operating system. But in order not to reinstall it again, you can transfer Windows 10 from HDD to SSD, saving all the data.

Why transfer?

If you decide to use an SSD as a drive to store data (photos, video or audio files), this controversial issue, since these devices have a limited overwrite limit. Active use will very quickly destroy it, unlike the HDD, which has been serving me for over 10 years and is still in excellent condition. But it has an interface SATA connections II, small buffer size and low response time. Therefore, it was decided to purchase a solid-state drive to transfer Windows 10 to it.

SSD drives are great for OS installation because they have the following advantages:

• high read/write speed;
• silent operation;
• low level of heat generation.

In addition, Windows is “static files” that do not require constant rewriting, but only reading. Therefore, if you install the OS on a solid-state drive, this will speed up its operation several times and at the same time the resource of the device itself will be used very slowly.

Another reason why I decided to install an SSD in my PC was participation in the insider program.

Microsoft releases a new build for Fast Ring approximately once a week. It took about 1-1.5 hours to install it on an old HDD. If you add time to this Windows startup- about 1.5-2 minutes, it becomes clear that the solution has long been obvious.

SSD selection

Details on how to choose an SSD disk for a computer are described in the article “”. In my case, three parameters were priority:

• number of rewrite cycles before failure;
• memory type;
• manufacturer.

Regarding capacity, if you are only going to use the SSD for Windows installations 10, choose models from 120 GB and more.

Why shouldn't you buy 64 GB drives?

There are several reasons.

1. For stable and normal operation The SSD disk should have up to 20% of free space on it of the total volume. If you use a 64 GB model (in fact, its volume will be slightly smaller - 58-60 GB), only 40-45 GB will be available for active use. Microsoft's recommendations for free disk space for Windows 10 are 16 GB for 32-bit and 20 GB for 64-bit OS. And this is already half of the specified space.
2. After installing a new build or Windows updates 10, a copy of the old OS remains on the system disk, which is used during recovery. This is an additional 15-20 GB.
3. In addition to the browser and audio and video players, the average user uses various programs and utilities. Installing them also requires quite a lot of space (for me it’s about 8 GB). For a gamer or person involved in video processing, you will need even more free space on the system disk.

Therefore, in modern conditions, the minimum size of the SSD drive that is used in the device to install the OS is 120 GB.

Connection and setup

The transfer process will be shown using a solid state drive as an example.

1. Turn off the computer → disconnect it from the network by unplugging the plug from the socket → press and hold the PC power button for 4 seconds (this will completely cut off the power to the device).
2. Open the case and install the SSD. The new buildings have compartments for SSD installation in a 2.5-inch form factor. Older models do not have them, so you can use a special adapter frame.
   
3. Connect power and SATA cable to the SSD → close the case.
4. Turn on your computer → enter BIOS → set the AHCI SSD drive mode → save changes and launch Windows 10.
   
5. RMB on the Start menu → Disk Management.
   

   Important! The table at the bottom of the window will display the connected SSD drive. It will be marked in black and labeled “Not distributed.”

   
   
6. RMB on SSD → Create simple volume → Next.
   
7. Set the maximum size simple volume→ Next.
   
8. Select the volume letter → Next.
   
9. Set the radio button to “Format this volume as follows” → leave all default values ​​→ Next → Finish.
   

After this, Explorer will display new disk under the letter that you set in the settings.

Transfer Windows 10 to SSD

To transfer Windows 10 to a solid-state drive, we used a program that has a wide range of functions. The choice fell on it because the SSD included a key for free activation. However, the program is paid, so it is not suitable for everyone.

There are other programs (paid and free) that can be used to transfer (clone/copy) a Windows partition to another drive:

• Seagate DiscWizard (works if the device has a Seagate drive installed);
• Samsung Data Migration (designed to work with Samsung solid-state drives);
• Macrium Reflect free program for cloning the entire disk or its individual parts, which has an English-language interface;
• Paragon Drive Copy is a paid program that has wide functionality.

The interface of all programs is different, but the operating algorithm is the same: they transfer data from one disk to another while maintaining all settings. There is no need to study instructions for their operation - everything is done so that the user intuitively understands what he is doing.

1. Run the program Acronis True Image → Tools section → Clone disk.
   
2. Select the cloning mode: automatic or manual.
   

   Good to know! In order not to worry that you will do something wrong, select the “automatic” mode and the program itself will transfer all the data from one disk to another. In this case, the SSD drive must be no less than the amount of data stored on the HDD. To configure transfer settings, select the “manual” setting.

   I chose the "manual" cloning mode to transfer only the OS.
   

3. Specify the source disk from which data will be cloned.
   
4. Specify the drive to transfer information to.
   
5. Exclude files that do not need to be cloned to the SSD. To transfer only the OS disk, check the boxes for files on other disks to exclude.
   
   

   Important! The process of calculating information can take a long time (about 15-20 minutes).

6. Change the disk structure if necessary. In my case, it was left unchanged.
   
7. Review all source data → Proceed.
   

After completing the preliminary operations, the program will ask you to restart your computer. Then, instead of starting the OS, the Acronis True Image program window will open and display the cloning process. Wait until the operation is completed and then the computer turns off.

Selecting the primary drive in BIOS

Setting up the OS after the transfer

More details on how to configure an SSD disk after installation on a computer are described in the article “”. In general, you need to check the following parameters:

• whether the TRIM function is enabled;
• Is disk defragmentation disabled (it is not needed due to the way solid-state drives operate);
• Is file indexing disabled?

As for the hibernation file, many advise disabling it in order to reduce the amount of information written to the SSD drive to extend its “life.” I didn’t turn it off because I often use this mode at work. But you can do as you see fit.

Please note that due to the settings that I specified during cloning, disks will be created on the solid-state drive, as was the case on the HDD. You can merge them in the Disk Management utility.

1. RMB on the Start menu → Disk Management → select SSD drive.
2. RMB on an empty disk on a solid-state drive → Format.
   
3. RMB on this disk → Delete volume → Yes.
   
4. RMB on this disk → Delete partition → Yes.
   
5. Repeat the same steps with the remaining free disks → after this, unallocated space will appear on the SSD (marked in black).

Remove Windows files 10 placed on the HDD by formatting this disk. This will eliminate confusion in the future and free up space for storing files.

Results

In addition, in the Winaero WEI tool, which calculates OS performance (similar to how the system rating is determined in Windows 7), the “Primary” indicator Hard Drive"increased from 5.6 to 7.95. (you can find out how else to determine OS performance in the article “Determining and increasing performance Windows computer 10 “Pleasant” surprises

Guarantee period Kingston HyperX Savage 120GB is 3 years with a total number of written bytes of 113 TB. The volume is quite large. BUT!

Every day, much more information is written to disk than it might seem. This is service information, wear leveling algorithms. Thanks to them, the same SSD memory blocks are not constantly rewritten. Periodically, unused (or rarely used) files are moved to areas of the drive that are actively used. The free space that appears after redistribution is then used to record new information. This is a cyclical process that happens constantly.

As a result, in worst case For 1 GB of useful data there are 1.5 GB of recorded information. Plus data cache in browsers and other information. As a result, on average, about 15 GB of information is recorded on my SSD every day. But even with such indicators, the resource of the solid-state drive will last approximately 15-18 years.

For people who actively write/erase data, this figure will be significantly lower. But even in this case, the relevance of the purchased SSD drive model will disappear faster than it fails. So stop believing the myth that SSDs are unreliable! In modern conditions they are - optimal choice to install Windows 10.

Hello, friends! I often had the opportunity to transfer Windows 7 and Windows 8 from a simple hard drive. HDD on SSD. I mainly used the following programs: Acronis True Image, Paragon Migrate OS to SSD, Paragon Home Expert 12 and AOMEI Partition Assistant Home Edition. The longest, but most interesting, way to transfer Windows 7 from HDD to SSD using the tools built into Windows.

• If you are interested in the article, visit where they are collected all publications on our site are very interesting topic transfer operating systems from one storage device to another.

The easiest and surprisingly fast waytransfer Windows 7 from HDD to SSDusing the program Paragon Migrate OS to SSD , with the help of this program I suggest that you today transfer the system to an SSD.

The program is paid, it costs a fortune 390 rubles. If you have Windows 8, then only latest version Paragon Migrate OS to SSD 3.0 programs.

Website http://www.paragon.ru/home/migrate-OS-to-SSD

Important Note: If you have Paragon Home Expert 12 installed, then the Paragon Migrate OS to SSD utility is included in the package of this program.

If you want to transfer Windows 7 from HDD to SSD from using Paragon Home Expert 12 go to the end of this article, there is a small instruction there.

After transferring the operating system from the HDD to the SSD, you need to check the correct alignment of the disk partitions relative to the SSD architecture. Aligned partitions ensure maximum performance, speed and longevity of your solid state SSD drive, believe me, this is very important. We will check the correctness of partition alignment using the free utility AS SSD Benchmark.

How to migrate Windows 7 from HDD to SSD using Paragon Migrate OS to SSD program

So, pay attention to the Disk Management window of my computer, there is a 250 GB hard drive, divided into two partitions, on one of them - drive (C:) there is a Windows 7 operating system, we will transfer it to a 120 GB SSD solid state drive, representing unallocated space.

Launch the Paragon Migrate OS to SSD program. Next.

The program automatically found my SSD drive and is ready to transfer the operating system. Pay attention to the item “Use all available space for the partition with OS”, be sure to check the box here and all the space on the solid-state drive will be allocated to create one new disk (C:) with the transferred Windows. After all, solid-state drives are used mainly only for installing the operating system.
If you click on “Please select what folders should be copied”, then you can select the folders you need to copy. I need the whole Windows, so I'll leave everything as is.

Click on the Copy button.

A suspiciously short migration process occurs without any reboots.

I couldn’t help but remember the good old Acronis True Image, where you had to create an image of the operating system, then deploy it to an SSD, although Acronis works flawlessly, it takes several times longer.

While we were talking about Acronis, the Paragon Migrate OS to SSD program had already transferred our Windows 7 to an SSD. The final window in which we are offered to boot from the SSD. Let's reboot.

Now you need to enter the BIOS and set to boot from the SSD. Select Boot Menu (F8).

Using the arrows on the keyboard, select our solid-state drive and press Enter. The computer is booting from the SSD.

Note: What I like about UEFI BIOS is that it has its own bootloader, which accommodates all existing bootloaders and will never get confused in them. The UEFI BIOS remembers the last operating system you loaded and will load it exactly next time. Switching between operating systems (no matter how many of them you have installed) is simple, fast and error-free.

If you have a regular BIOS, then the transfer should also occur without problems. The only thing you need to do is find in it the parameter responsible for primacy hard drives Hard Disk Drives (AMI BIOS) or Hard Disk Boot Priority (AWARD BIOS) and set your SSD as the first device. How to find these parameters can be found in.

I think you managed it and booted from the SSD into the transferred system. We go to Disk Management and see this picture - the system has been transferred.

The last thing we will do is check the correct alignment of the SSD partitions using a simple program AS SSD Benchmark. You can download the utility on the official website. How do you get to the office? utility website, go straight to the bottom and click Download.

http://www.alex-is.de/PHP/fusion/downloads.php?cat_id=4&download_id=9

Unzip and run the utility. In the upper left corner we look at two lines, if they Green colour, then everything is OK. The number in the second line must be divisible by 4. If the offset is incorrect, the line will be red. The AS SSD Benchmark program not only shows partition alignment, but also performs a random and sequential read and write test. Click the Start button. Knowing the SSD test scores, you can compare them with the performance of a regular hard drive.

Good afternoon.

At the time of buying new hard disk or SSD (solid state drive), the question always arises of what to do: either install it on Windows disk“from scratch”, or transfer an already working Windows OS to it, making a copy (clone) of it from the old hard drive.

In this article I want to look at a quick and easy way to transfer Windows (relevant for Windows: 7, 8 and 10) from an old laptop drive to a new SSD (in my example I will transfer the system from HDD to SSD, but the transfer principle will be the same and for HDD -> HDD). And so, let's start to figure it out in order.

1. What you need to transfer Windows (preparation)

1) AOMEI Backupper Standard program.

Why her? Firstly, it is free to use. Secondly, it has all the necessary functions to transfer Windows from one drive to another. Thirdly, it works very quickly and, by the way, very well (I don’t remember encountering any errors or failures during operation).

The only drawback is the interface English language. But nevertheless, even for those who do not speak English well, everything will be quite intuitive.

2) Flash drive or CD/DVD disk.

A flash drive will be needed to write a copy of the program onto it, so that you can boot from it after replacing the disk with a new one. Because in this case, the new disk will be clean, but the old one will no longer be in the system - there is nothing to boot from...

By the way, if you have a large flash drive (32-64 GB), then perhaps you can also write a copy of Windows onto it. In this case, you will not need an external HDD.

3) External hard drive.

Will be needed to record a copy on it Windows systems. In principle, it can also be bootable (instead of a flash drive), but it is true that in this case you will first need to format it, make it bootable, and then write a copy of Windows onto it. In most cases, external hard The disk is already filled with data, which means formatting it is problematic (since external hard drives are quite spacious, and transferring 1-2 TB of information somewhere is time-consuming!).

2. Creating a bootable USB flash drive/disk

After installation (the installation, by the way, is standard, without any “troubles”) and launching the program, open the Utilites section (system utilities). Next, open the “Create Bootable Media” section (create bootable media, see Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Creating a bootable USB flash drive

Rice. 3. Choosing between Linux and Windows PE

Actually, the last step is choosing the media type. Here you need to specify either a CD/DVD disk, or USB flash drive(or external drive).

Please note that in the process of creating such a flash drive, all information on it will be deleted!

Rice. 4. Select boot device

3. Creating a copy (clone) of Windows with all programs and settings

The first step is to open the Backup section.

Then you need to select the System Backup function (see Fig. 5).

In Step2 - specify the disk to which a copy of the system will be copied. Here, it is best to indicate a flash drive or external hard drive (see Fig. 6).

After the settings have been entered, click the start button - Start Backup.

Rice. 6. Selecting disks: what to copy and where to copy The process of copying a system depends on several parameters: the volume of data being copied; speed, to which a flash drive or external hard drive is connected, etc.

For example: my system drive “C:\”, 30 GB in size, was completely copied to portable hard disk in ~30 min. (by the way, during the copying process, your copy will be somewhat compressed).

4. Replacing the old HDD with a new one (for example, an SSD)

The process of removing the old hard drive and connecting a new one is not a complicated and fairly quick procedure. Sit with a screwdriver for 5-10 minutes (this applies to both laptops and PCs). Below I will look at replacing a disk in a laptop.

IN general case, it all comes down to this:

1. First turn off the laptop. Disconnect all wires: power supply, USB mouse, headphones, etc. Also disconnect battery;
2. Next, open the cover and unscrew the screws securing the hard drive;
3. Then install a new disk instead of the old one and secure it with screws;
4. Next, you need to install the protective cover, connect the battery and turn on the laptop (see Fig. 7).

More details on how to install an SSD drive in a laptop:

Rice. 7. Replacing a disk in a laptop (removed back cover, protecting the hard drive and RAM devices)

5. Setting up the BIOS to boot from a flash drive

Supporting article:

Entering BIOS (+ entry keys) -

After installing the disk, when you turn on the laptop for the first time, I recommend immediately going to BIOS settings and see if the disk is detected (see Fig. 8).

Rice. 8. Has the new SSD been detected?

Next, in the BOOT section, you need to change the boot priority: put USB drives first (as in Fig. 9 and 10). By the way, please note that different models laptops, the settings in this section are identical!

Rice. 9. Dell laptop. Search for boot records first on USB media, secondly - search on hard drives.

Rice. 10. Laptop ACER Aspire. BOOT section in BIOS: boot from USB.

After setting all the settings in the BIOS, exit it and save the settings - EXIT AND SAVE (most often the F10 key).

6. Transfer a copy of Windows to an SSD drive (recovery)

Actually, if you booted from bootable media created in the AOMEI Backupper standart program, you will see a window as in Fig. eleven.

You need to select the restore section and then specify the path to backup Windows (which we created in advance in section 3 of this article). To search for a copy of the system, there is a Path button (see Fig. 11).

Rice. 11. Specifying the path to the location of the copy of Windows

In the next step, the program will ask you again whether you really want to restore the systems from this backup. We just agree.

Rice. 12. Are we really restoring the system?!

Rice. 13. Selecting a copy (relevant if 2-3 or more)

In the next step (see Figure 14), you need to specify the disk to which you want to deploy your copy of Windows (note that the disk size must be no less than the copy with Windows!).

Rice. 14. Selecting a recovery drive

The last step is to check and confirm the entered data.

Rice. 15. Confirmation of entered data

Rice. 16. The process of transferring Windows to a new SSD drive.

After the transfer, the laptop will reboot - I recommend immediately going into the BIOS and changing the boot queue (set to boot from the hard drive/SSD drive).

Rice. 17. Restoring BIOS settings

Actually, this article is completed. After transferring the “old” Windows system from the HDD to the new SSD drive, by the way, you need to configure Windows correctly (but this is a separate topic).

Happy transfer :)

Transferring the system to SSD is effective method computer organization. In addition, after purchasing a flash drive, you will not need to install the OS on it from scratch and configure all the drivers. Moving to disk already existing system will save time and free up your PC disk for storing other files.

Along with the transfer of Windows, absolutely all programs, games, settings and drivers that are already installed on the PC will be moved to the SSD. You can solve the problem in one of two ways:

• Using built-in OS functions;
• Using third party utilities.

Please note, depending on Windows versions and the parameters of the purchased flash drive, transfer methods may vary.

What data can be transferred toSSD

Storing the operating system on an SSD not only speeds up its operation, but also improves the response of other programs and files that are stored on the disk. The user can transfer the following types of data to a flash drive:

• Operating system . It is added to the SSD with all ready-made drivers and settings. In essence, a duplicate of it is created, which was previously stored on the HDD;
• Programs – choose yourself which applications you want to add to the SSD and which you want to leave on the computer’s hard drive (HDD). We advise you to leave extensive programs for video editing and software development/testing on your computer - this way they will work many times faster;
• User files . This can be any of your documents, photos, music, videos and other types of data.

Components to move

To add Windows in use to the SSD, the following objects are required:

• Installed transfer utility;
• The SSD itself;
• Computer or laptop;
• An adapter of the SATA-USB type, with which an external drive is connected to a PC.

If you only work with OS resources, you won't need to install a third-party utility to transfer.

Computer requirements

Before you perform any OS migration steps, make sure that your device meets all the minimum requirements that allow the utility to interact with the SSD and transfer large amounts of data. Minimum Requirements are listed in the following table:

You can compare your computer's settings with the specifications listed above using the About window. It displays correct data about the main hardware and software components of the device:

Fig.2 – viewing window Windows settings and computer

We use the built-in capabilities of Windows

Follow the instructions to transfer the operating system to a flash device:

• Open the Disk Management window. To do this, enter the command diskmgmt.msc in the Run window and confirm the action;

Fig.3 - launching disk management tool

• Now you need to reduce the size of the OS on the disk. You can perform this action using the “Shrink Volume” function. All data will remain in the same state, only the space occupied on the HDD will decrease. Right-click on the “System” section and then on “Shrink Volume”;

Fig. 4 – Volume compression

• After successfully reducing the size of the OS, a free partition will appear in the disk layout. This means that everything was done correctly;
• Connect the drive to your computer and restart the Disk Management window;
• Now click on the “Wizard” tab and select “OS SSD Transfer” from the list;

Fig.5 - “Master” tab

• A standard utility for cloning the operating system will open. Click on the “Next” button to go to the settings;
• Click on the “Unallocated space” item and go to the next window;

Fig.6 – disk space selection

• Now you can independently change the size of the future disk or leave all parameters unchanged;

Fig.7 - changing the disk partition size

• After clicking the “Next” button, the wizard will begin moving the system. After completing the action, you can turn off the computer and the next time you boot, select the OS that is located on the SSD.

Windows will also remain on the hard drive. You can delete it or use it as a backup copy when you need to restore the system.

Fig. 8 - the result of a successful Windows move

Don't forget to click on the "Apply" button in the upper left part of the "Disk Management" window, otherwise all changes made will not be saved. If you experience any error windows or freezes during the transfer, you should reset the settings, restart your PC, and try the transfer again.

Fig.9 - applying changes

Instructions forSSD fromSamsung

Samsung Company has released an official utility that allows you to quickly move the OS from your hard drive to a purchased flash drive. The utility is called Samsung Data Migration. You can download it for free from the company’s official website (section “Memory” - “SSD”) or using the disk that comes with the device.

The initial program window looks like this:

Fig. 10 – Samsung Data Migration utility window

Immediately after launching the utility, connect to computer SSD using the appropriate adapter. Click on the “Start” button. Next, the application will automatically scan the HDD in use and display information about the remaining free space and sections of the media.

Fig. 11 – analysis of a disk with installed copy Windows

After analysis, the program will automatically detect the SSD connected to the computer and display it on the screen:

Fig. 12 – reconciliation of the source and destination disk

If the space occupied by Windows on the HDD does not exceed the available space on the SSD, you can immediately begin the transfer by clicking on the “Start” button. The automatic movement of all components will begin. The procedure can take from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on the version of Windows used.

Fig. 13 - successful system transfer

As a result, you will receive a notification that the operating system has been successfully cloned to the flash drive. Close the window and delete all Windows data from the HDD.

Plus using Samsung Data Migration is about simple interface. The program will do all the work for you and minimize the likelihood of errors or bugs appearing after transferring the OS.

What to do if during the analysis stage you find that there is not enough space for the OS on the SSD? In this case, you need to clean Windows of unused data and applications. You can do this directly in the Samsung Data Migration utility window.

Fig. 14 - Error. Not enough SSD space

After the error text appears (highlighted in red), click on the “Next” button and in a new window, delete all library files that are cluttering the system. Clean the OS until the text “Ready to clone to SSD” appears in the main utility window.

Fig. 15 - successful cleaning of unnecessary files

Acronis True Image utility

Fig. 16 – main window of the Acroins application

To move the system, connect removable media to the computer and in the program window, click on the “Disk cloning” - “Copying partitions” tile. In the window that opens, select automatic movement mode. It is suitable for all tasks and copies data quickly.

Fig.17 - selection of cloning mode

All partitions will be copied to the flash drive. All data that was on the SSD before cloning will be deleted. The disk itself will become bootable and can only be used to run the operating systems installed on it.

Fig. 18 – copying process

Seagate DiscWizard utility

The utility completely replicates the Acronis interface. It must be used if your PC has at least one hard drive from the manufacturer Seagate. To clone, you should follow the same steps as described in the previous paragraph of the article.

Fig. 19 – Seagate Disc Wizard main window

Changing bootloader configuration

After cloning the system, a copy of the OS will remain on the computer, and every time you boot, a window will appear with a boot selection. After the transfer, we recommend that you perform a number of actions:

• Without deleting the original copy from the HDD, test the operation of Windows on the HDD. There are times when the system starts to slow down and performance deteriorates. This happens extremely rarely and depends solely on the selected SSD. As long as the first copy is not deleted, you will always have the opportunity to return to using it and remove the OS from the SSD;
• Change your system bootloader settings.

The boot manager is a built-in component that helps your computer determine which installed operating system to run. You can also configure the startup order of hardware components.

Immediately after cloning, the manager will show two systems with identical names - the original and the copied one. In case of normal Windows operation on an SSD, you need to delete the version that remains on the computer’s hard drive. Follow the instructions:

• Restart your PC and run the version that was moved to the flash drive;
• Open command line Windows;
• Enter the command shown in the figure below, giving the OS copies on the SSD a unique name;